Winter is Here! Here's What You Need To Know Before The Snow Starts Falling

The following letter was included in the regular e-newsletter shared with City of Bend Business Registration holders. Are you a Business Registration holder that would like to receive these in your inbox? Contact bendforbusiness@gmail.com to ensure your contact information is correct in our database.

Dear Bend Business Owner,

Winter is here! So far that’s meant chilly temps and clear skies but it won’t be long before the white stuff starts showing up here in town.

Whether you embrace winter weather or prefer to stay inside dreaming of tropical climates (guilty!), Bend residents, businesses, and city departments all play a role in ensuring folks can get around town when the snow starts falling.

Local Policy Changes
After a record winter, the City of Bend has made some changes to snow removal policy in town. Notably, certain high traffic roads will not allow any on-street parking during declared snow emergencies.

What constitutes a snow emergency? They’ll typically coincide with private contractors being called out to aid City crews. During the declared emergency there will be a 12-hour period of time where parking will be restricted on nine streets in town. You can read more and access the list of streets subject to snow emergency parking restrictions by clicking here.

For a three-minute overview of the policy changes and other updates, check out the video below:

The best way to stay up to date on snow emergencies is by signing up for “snow emergency notifications” at www.bendoregon.gov/enews. If you have signed up for other news notifications, you will need to login and change your preferences to include emergency snow zone notifications.

Business Owner Responsibilities

As a business owner it’s up to you to clear the sidewalk directly adjacent to your business within six hours of daylight after snow has fallen. However, depending on your business type and location you may also need to consider snow clearance for areas like parking lots and other pedestrian walkways on your property. You can download snow removal best practice diagrams for business corridors, shopping complexes, and hotels or motels on the Code Enforcement page, located here.